The Letter #3
“I think it’s insulting,” Maria said. “I don’t know why Grandma Austin would send that. I’m perfectly capable of finding another job, and I don’t need any charity from her.”
Dad smiled. “We all know that,” he said. “I doubt your Grandma Austin thinks you couldn’t find another job. She’s probably got some other reason.”
“Well, if she does, I wish she’d come out and say it,” Maria said. “I’ve got to think of a reply, and I’ve been stewing about it all afternoon.”
“You said you wouldn’t stew about it,” Grandma called from the hallway.
“I tried not to,” Maria said. “I wasn’t very successful.
Anyway, I’m gonna write her back and tell her thank you, but I’ve got a job here.
Except I need to figure out the job first. Unfortunately Rick’s Diner and the American place both turned me down.
I guess I’ll have to go with that pizza job at Main Street Kitchen for now. ”
Dad smiled, shaking his head. “Don’t jump at a job you don’t like just because you’re worried about what to reply,” he said. “Besides, are you sure you don’t want to go to the ranch?”
Had she heard right? Maria shook her head, as if to make her ears work better. “Dad!” she exclaimed. “Why on earth would I want to go to the ranch?”
“Well, your mother grew up there,” Dad said. “You might want to get a taste of what her life was like.”
Maria stared at him. Work for the enemy? The woman who had them financially captive? Just thinking about it made her temples pulse. “Dad, you want me to work for Grandma Austin? After all the things she’s done to you?”
“I know Patricia Austin and I haven’t agreed on many things over the years,” Dad said. “But I do think it could be a good thing for you to spend time on the ranch, especially now. You’ve seemed at loose ends lately, and a change of scenery could be the thing you need.”
“It wouldn’t be just a change of scenery. I’d have to stay with Grandma Austin and whoever else she has out there on the ranch. I couldn’t stand that!” Maria flung out her hands in protest. “Three months? I’d go insane.”
How was he so mild about this? Of all the people who had a right to hold a grudge, Dad headed the list.
Dad folded the letter. “Well, I’m not trying to make you go, if you don’t want to. I just think you should think about it before you dismiss the whole idea. You’re not a kid anymore, and I don’t want you to miss out on the chance to get to know your mom’s family.”
No. She had a bad feeling in her gut just hearing it mentioned. Maria folded her arms. “No amount of thinking is going to make me want to stay with the Austins.”
§
After dinner and cleanup, as the sun sank low, Maria sat reading in the living room. Dad and Grandma talked in the kitchen, their voices low in the background.
Reading, curled in the corner of the couch, was one of Maria’s favorite evening activities, but tonight she couldn’t concentrate on the book. She kept glancing at the pictures of her and her parents out west.
It was funny that she’d been out there, but because she had only been two, she remembered nothing. What had drawn her mom back to Montana, even with an uncomfortable family situation and a toddler to take care of? What was so special about the West?
Maybe Maria would never know. Maybe her life here in Michigan was enough. It was a tragedy, losing her mother so young, but things like that happened to a lot of people, and they went on with their lives. Maria wouldn’t die if she didn’t learn about that side of her family.
But with the sudden letter, it felt like she was being tantalized with an opportunity.
Maybe Dad was right. On the ranch, Maria could learn first-hand what her mom’s life growing up had been like.
Who knew—maybe, when the Austin family got to know her, they’d realize the family estrangement had been stupid.
Maybe she’d be able to bring together the two halves of her heritage.
Maria rubbed her forehead. Who was she kidding? Patricia Austin was only interested in money and the ranch. She’d never called or visited, and she was only interested in Dad paying her back the money she’d lent him. It couldn’t be clearer that she didn’t have any care for her granddaughter.
Maria got up and headed to the kitchen for a glass of water. What she needed to do was get another job. Her mind had been woolgathering over the last few days, and clearly she didn’t have enough to do. When she got the job, it would be all right.
Maria called the Main Street Kitchen and accepted the job offer. The manager got on the phone. He told Maria that she could work that evening until closing, if she wanted. She should wear an outfit with jeans and comfortable shoes, and they’d give her a Main Street Kitchen T-shirt.
That was a red flag. If a job told you to come in that evening, it usually meant they were desperately short-handed.
But maybe they were just unusually swamped today.
Maria ought to give them the benefit of the doubt.
She asked if she could come in tomorrow, and the manager told her to come in at one PM.